Abruzzo & Puglia

We gather for our overnight flight to Rome.

Arriving at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport, we head east towards L’Aquila. Along the way, a wine tasting with local charcuterie, cheeses and regional specialties gives us our first taste of Abruzzo. This evening we gather for a welcome dinner at a local restaurant near our hotel. 

Hotel Castello L’Aquila - 3 nights

A morning guided tour introduces us to L’Aquila, a city that, according to legend, was founded by communities from 99 castles joining together. The Fontana delle 99 Cannelle commemorates this story, with 99 spouts, one for each castle. Among our stops is the Basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio, known for its Romanesque façade and Holy Door. After a free afternoon, we dine at a local restaurant.

Today, we head into Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park. Our first stop is Santo Stefano di Sessanio, once a prosperous village that built its wealth by supplying wool to Florence. Here, we enjoy a traditional snack featuring coffee, local bread, eggs, and tomatoes. Then, we learn about the important role of women in the region’s pastoral traditions, listening to stories of transhumance before taking part in a hands-on introduction to local crafts. Afterwards, a shuttle bus carries us up to Rocca Calascio, at about 1,460 metres. Beyond lies Campo Imperatore, a vast, high-altitude plateau in the Apennines. Its expansive landscape has earned it the nickname “Little Tibet.”

Descending towards the Adriatic, we stop in Ortona, where Canadian soldiers fought street by street in December 1943 in a battle known as “Little Stalingrad.” At the Moro River Canadian War Cemetery, we pay our respects to those who rest here. Along the coast, we explore the Abbey of San Giovanni in Venere, one of the region’s most powerful monasteries in the Middle Ages, overlooking the sea. Lunch is served on a trabocco, one of the wooden fishing platforms that give this stretch of the coastline its name. We end the day in Vasto. 

Hotel Excelsior - 1 night 

Continuing our journey into Puglia, we tour the 13th-century Castel del Monte, built for Emperor Frederick II. Standing on a hill in the Murgia region, its distinctive octagonal design and remarkable features helped earn it UNESCO World Heritage status in 1996. Next, a local producer welcomes us for a tasting lunch featuring fresh burrata before we head to Trani to admire the cathedral’s pink stone rising at the edge of the sea. Our day ends in Bari, our home for the next four nights. 

Hotel Boston - 4 nights 

As the dynamic capital of Puglia, Bari perfectly balances a bustling modern waterfront with a labyrinthine historic centre that preserves centuries of authentic Southern Italian culture. A guided tour leads us through Bari Vecchia, the historic old town, to the lane known as the “Strada delle Orecchiette,” where local women sit at tables outside their doorways shaping pasta by hand. At a cooking class, we try the technique ourselves before sitting down to lunch. The afternoon is ours to explore, and this evening, we dine at a local restaurant.

In the countryside near Monopoli, we savour a curated wine tasting alongside lunch at a local winery. Following our meal, we head to the coast to Polignano a Mare, a picturesque whitewashed town set high on cliffs above the Adriatic. Below the town, the cove of Lama Monachile cuts into the rocky coastline. Back in Bari, the evening is ours to enjoy at leisure.

In Alberobello, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a local guide introduces us to the trulli, limestone houses built without mortar using a traditional dry-stone technique that is still practised in the region. Lunch follows at a local masseria, one of Puglia’s historic manor farms. In the afternoon we tour Ostuni, the “White City,” rising above the surrounding olive groves. On our walk, we explore its whitewashed lanes, which climb towards the old town.

We travel inland to Matera, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993. We explore the Sassi, the old districts of homes and churches carved into rock. At Casa Grotta, a cave house partly carved into the rock and furnished as it was in the 1950s, we learn what daily life was like for families living in Matera’s caves. After lunch, we continue south to Lecce for dinner. 

Mercure Hotel President Lecce - 4 nights

Gallipoli’s old town is set on a limestone island linked to the mainland by a bridge. Beneath the old town’s streets are historic olive oil mills carved into the rock. On our visit to an underground mill, we see where olives from the surrounding countryside were once pressed. Afterwards, we take part in a hands-on ceramics workshop. We gather for dinner at a local restaurant in the evening.

A guided tour introduces us to Lecce, known as the city of the Baroque, where churches and palaces are carved from pale local stone. We then travel to Otranto, whose cathedral is home to a remarkable 12th-century floor mosaic created under the direction of the priest Pantaleone between 1163 and 1165. Continuing to Galatina, we step inside the Basilica of Santa Caterina d’Alessandria, where the walls are covered in 15th-century frescoes. Enjoy lunch along our route, and the evening is ours to explore.

A day at leisure lets us enjoy Lecce at our own pace before we gather for a farewell dinner at a local restaurant.

As our memorable journey through Abruzzo and Puglia comes to an end, we transfer to Brindisi Airport for our flights home to Canada via Rome.